IRON MOUNTAIN – The city of Iron Mountain will now have a sister city located in Italy – Sassoferrato – meaning Iron Mountain in English.

A resolution, adopted at Tuesday’s meeting of the Iron Mountain City Council, establishes that connection between the two cities – the beginning of a friendship that spans 4,599 miles across the north Atlantic Ocean.

This idea of forging a connection with a sister city was brought to the council at the July 5 meeting by Iron Mountain resident Albert Santoni.

Santoni has recently returned from a visit to Sassoferrato and met with the mayor of that city, who is also interested in having ties with Iron Mountain through a sister city arrangement.

Sassoferrato is located about 150 miles north of Rome and is the center of central Italy’s le Marche region. In its history, the city was an important location along the ancient Roman road, Via Flaminia, which runs from Rome to Ancona.

The town of less than 8,000 people is represented by a symbol – a bunch of rocks wrapped in a band of iron – which is where it got its name from.

The resolution passed by the council states, “The people of the city of Iron Mountain extend a hand of friendship to our potential sister city of Sassoferrato Italy.” Further, the council is “interested in fostering environments through which municipal partnerships can learn, work and solve problems together.”

The resolution also extended a formal invitation to the mayor and people of Sassoferrato to join with Iron Mountain as a sister city and conduct programs to bring the citizens of both cities more closely together and “strengthen international amity.”

Iron Mountain City Manger Jordan Stanchina noted that Iron Mountain hasn’t had a sister city and said that Santoni’s visit on Aug. 6 to Sassoferrato affirmed the cities’ mutual interests.

“They (Sassoferrato officials) are interested in coming over here to see our city. I think this is a win-win for everyone,” Stanchina said.

“I think it’s a great idea for the two cities,” Councilman Bill Revord added.

He suggested that the city post a sign on both the north and south ends of Iron Mountain showing that they are a sister city with Sassoferrato, Italy.

The council also discussed possibly joining the Sister Cities International program.

Stanchina said that would cost $295 a year to be a member. He added that there are 1,000 cities in the United States that have sister cities through the program.

Sister Cities International is a nonprofit, nonpartisan national membership organization for individual

sister cities, counties and states across the U.S. It was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower after the White House summit on citizen diplomacy.

The Marquette area recently hosted a delegation from Jigashiomi, Japan, as a part of the Sister City Partnership. Ten Japanese delegates attended, including city staff, students and people representing various professions in that city.

Council member Pam Maule thought it would be a nice idea to host a group from Sassoferrato during Iron Mountain’s Italian Fest, which is held each year in August.

Linda Lobeck’s email address is llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.